Power Rangers Zeo Genesis: The Eltarian Chronicals
by MrQuinn
Summary: (Chapter 9 loaded) Set shortly after Passing the Torch: Tommy, Adam and the others prepare for their battle with the Dark Alliance.
1. One: The reunion

**_*-* Eltar *-*_**

****

Most of the major cities had already been destroyed. Eltarian scientists had been rounded up by enemy forces and taken to prisoner holding camps. Some were executed; others were forced to work a being only known as Dark Specter. 

The attack came without warning, and the Eltarian's, who were a peaceful people, found themselves ill-equipped to deal with the invasion once it began. By the time they realized what was happening, over hundreds of Eltarian's were killed, dozens more critically injured. Realizing that there was no way for the Eltarian people to survive the invasion, The Great Sage, considered a GOD among his people, decreed that Eltar itself would have to enlist the services of Power Rangers. 

Zordon, the Eltarian assigned to protect Earth and other surrounding planets in it's galaxy, relinquished the Zeo powers to The Great Sage, allowing him to choose five new warriors to defend his home world.

They failed…….

The rangers chosen to defend Eltar fought well, but in the end, Dark Specter destroyed all but one. The last surviving ranger was serious injured, and his body was beyond repair. Instead of allowing him to die, his consciousness was transferred into a biomechanical body; part Eltarian, part machine, and powered by a red ruby. With no real identity of his own, Zordon nicknamed him The Phantom Ranger.

With his newfound power, the last surviving ranger did his best to hold off enemy forces, but ultimately failed as well. Dark Specter had kidnapped the Great Sage, and it seemed as if it was only a matter of time before Eltar bent to his will.

Zordon himself returned to Eltar to assist in the struggle, but even then, all hoped seemed lost.

"Alpha, try to stabilize the power grid. If you don't, the circuits will overload and the command center will explode," Zolara told him as the two of them worked on two separate control panels in the new command center.

At this point, it wasn't much to look at as most of the major systems had been destroyed beyond repair. The entire center had been reduced to backup generators, making it difficult to see.

"Ai yi yi yi yi, I'm trying Zolara, but every time I stabilize a pathway, another collapses," he pointed out.

"Just do your best my friend," she sighed.

It was at that moment that the Phantom Ranger stormed in, having a hard time staying on his feet. He fell to his knees in front of the long, blue tube that encased Zordon.

"Zordon," he mumbled.

"Was your mission a success?" he asked him.

The Phantom ranger opened a small container, revealing five morphers. "The cloaking technology you installed in my chest plate worked perfectly. Dark Specter's minions never even knew I was there," he told him.

"Excellent. With the Zeo morphers in our possession again, perhaps now our planet will have a chance to survive," Zordon said.

"But Zordon, who will you give these new powers to? Andros is still leading the rebellion on KO-35 with the Astro rangers," Alpha pointed out.

"Rest assured old friend, I have someone in mind," he told him.

**_*-* Earth * October 1997*-*_**

He'd battled against an entire Machine Empire and won, engaged in battles with space pirates and saved the universe more times than he could count, but now, he was about to face his greatest challenge……..

"Breakfast," Adam grumbled inwardly as he walked into the kitchen, pulling a skillet from under the sink and placed it on the stove. Next, he headed over to the refrigerator, rambling through until he found the eggs. He simply dropped the eggs into the skillet and turned on the stove, and using a spatula, made an attempt to scramble the eggs.

It had only been a few days since Dimitri ordered he and the other rangers to transfer their powers to a new group of rangers. Part of him felt a bit unsettled about the idea of having an entire group of newbies given the responsibility of saving the world, but trusted in Dimitri's decision. _'They still have Justin,'_ he thought to himself, but found little comfort in the thought of the most experienced ranger on the team being a 12-year-old boy.

None-the-less, Adam found himself trying to adjust to a regular life. He'd made plans to enroll in some college courses, maybe take up some computer classes. And of course, there was Tanya.

The two of them had never been given the chance to fully explore their feelings; they were too busy saving the universe. Now, that part of their lives was over, and he was looking forward to simply being with Tanya.

His thoughts were broken as he looked up only to see Tanya walking into the kitchen wearing a yellow housecoat. Funny, even now, they clung to their former ranger colors. Adam cracked a smile as he realized that he had on a pair of green pajamas.

"Morning sweetie," he said, leaning in to kiss her, but she turned her head, glancing over her shoulder.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked him, pushing him aside and rushing into the kitchen.

"I'm making you breakfast in bed, I thought it would be romantic," he mentioned as Tanya picked up the skillet and tossed it in the sink, running water in it. Next, she rushed over to the toaster, which was smoking, and snatched the cord out the wall.

"Next time babe, leave the cooking to me," she sighed.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"That's okay Adam, it's the thought that counts," Tanya said, walking over to him and wrapping her arms around him.

They moved in to kiss one another, but were interrupted when the phone rang. They both let out a sigh of frustration as they backed away from each other. Adam reluctantly headed over to the phone.

"Hello," he said dryly, never taking his eyes off Tanya as she opened her housecoat, revealing a yellow bra and panties set underneath.

"Hey Adam, sorry to bother you so early in the morning, but can you meet Kat and I at the juice bar this afternoon? About twelve," the voice on the other end of the phone said.

Adam quickly recognized the voice. Even now, Tommy had a silent way of commanding authority, and even though Tommy requested Adam and Tanya's presence, Adam was compelled to comply.

"Yeah, sure Tommy. What's up?" he asked him.

"I don't think we should talk about it over the phone, but we'll go over all the details when we meet you there," he told him.

"You got it,"

"What was that about?" Tanya asked as Adam hung up the phone.

She walked over to him after noticing the confused look on his face, wrapping her arms around him for comfort.

"That was Tommy, he said he wants us to meet him at the juice bar this afternoon. It sounded important," Adam said.

Tanya glanced up at the clock. "Well, there's about 3 hours before noon. That gives us plenty of time to……."  She simply paused, licking her lips slightly.

Adam nodded, grabbing her by the hand and taking her into the bedroom and closing the door behind themselves.

**_*-*_**

"They should have been here by now," Tommy sighed, looking down at his watch for the tenth time as he and Kat sat across from one another in the Juice Bay.

It seemed strange to them, being in the Juice Bar again. Nothing had changed; everything was still in time same place, Ernie still worked behind the bar, every now and then Bulk and Skull came in to make fools of themselves, even the blue mat that he and Jason use to work out on was still there. It was them that were different.

"Relax Tommy, they'll be here," she assured him.

There were a lot of memories in that bar; some good, some not so good. Tommy recalled when he and the other rangers came to the Juice Bar shortly after Kimberly's death. At the time, he was convinced that he would never truly be over her death, and even now, he wasn't sure he was. The others had done their best to convince him it would be okay, but when their advice wasn't working, they suggested therapy. It went against his better judgment, but in the best interests of the group, he agreed. _'After all, what kind of leader would I be if I wasn't in control of my own emotions?'_ he thought to himself. He'd only been in therapy a few weeks, but he was amazed how much progress he'd made. Talking about to it someone truly helped him deal with his emotions.

And of course, there was Kat…….

In the beginning, he thought that, in a way, he would be betraying his feelings for Kim if he exploded the possibility of a relationship with Katherine. However, after only a few short weeks in therapy, he began to realize that even Kim would have wanted him to move on with his life. 

He reached across the table, grabbing Kat's hand and holding it gently. She glanced down at his hand, and then smiled slightly.

"You're right, they'll be here," he sighed.

Just then, there were interrupted when Richie walked over to them with a piece of paper in his hand. "Hey guys, do you mind if I sit down?" he asked.

"Actually….." before Kat could respond, Richie pulled up a chair and sat across from them.

"I got a letter from Trini today," he sighed.

"That's great man, how's she doing?" Tommy asked him.

"See for yourself," he said, handing Tommy the paper.

Tommy glanced over it for a few minutes, and then quietly folded the paper, handing it back to Richie. "I'm sorry to hear that man. How are you taking it?" he inquired.

"She dumped me Tommy! I spent all that time writing her letters back and forth at that stupid peace conference and she dumps me a few days before she was scheduled to come home. How would _you_ take it if someone sent you a letter dumping you?" he cried.

Tommy thought back to the letter Kim sent him, telling him they should just be friends. At the time, he hurt him more than he cared to admit, but after time went on, he realized that Kim was right. The distance between them was too much, and after time, they grew apart.

"Hey guys, sorry we're late," Tanya said as she and Adam walked over to the table holding hands with one another.

"Can you excuse us Richie?" Kat asked.

"Yeah, sure," he sighed, taking his letter and walking away.

"What's with him?" Adam inquired as he and Tanya sat down at the table.

"Trini dumped him."

"Really? That's gotta be tough," he said.

"Did the letter say why?" Kat asked.

"Yeah, Trini and Zach and together now," Tommy said.

"What?" they all asked in unison.

Tommy nodded. "The letter said that she and Zach were together now, and she apologized to Richie for leading him on," he said.

"Man, it must suck to get a letter from someone who claimed to love you, only to dump you for another guy," Adam mentioned, then looked over at Kat, who was shaking her head slightly. Adam paused, and then remembered the letter Tommy got from Kim years ago. "Sorry Tommy," he sighed.

"No problem."

"So what's up?" Tanya asked, getting down to business.

The four of them leaned in closer to ensure no one overheard their conversation. "I was contacted by Zordon yesterday," Tommy said.

"What did he say?"

"He told me that the battle on Eltar was getting worse. The rangers who protected the planet were captured and destroyed, all except for one. He said that unless something happens soon, Eltar will fall to Dark Specter," he explained.

"What can we do?"

"Zordon told me that Dimitri asked us to step down not because we were getting too old, but because Zordon wanted experienced rangers on Eltar to help in the rebellion. He wants us," Tommy said.

"What about Earth?" Adam asked.

"TJ and the other rangers should be able to handle Divatox. Zordon mentioned sending the one surviving ranger from Eltar here to help them just in case they needed it," he pointed out. "I can't force any of you to come. I know that giving up your powers gave you the chance to do other things with your lives. If you decide to stay, no one here will hold it against you," he told them.

"I'm in," Adam said bluntly.

"Count me in too," Tanya agreed.

Kat glanced over at Tommy. "Do you really think I'm going to let you go to another planet without me? I'm in too," she said.

Tommy nodded. "I'll contact Zordon and tell him the news. We should all meet on the outside of town just before dusk. A shuttle will come for us," he said.

"Can't we just teleport there? It would be a lot quicker," Tanya mentioned.

"We could, but Dark Specter is monitoring the system too closely. If we tried to teleport to Eltar, he would blow our energy patterns out the sky without a second thought. The shuttle Zordon is sending is equipped with some kind of cloaking technology, it should be enough for us to slip by Dark Specter and make it to Eltar without being seen," he explained.

"So if the four of us are going to be rangers again, who will be the fifth?" Adam asked.

"What do you mean?"

"There are always five rangers. Always," he pointed out.

"I hadn't even thought about it, but I'm sure Zordon has someone in mind," he said.

"You're right," he said.

"We'll all meet at the abandoned steel mill tonight around nine. The sun should be setting, and the mill will give us the perfect cover," Tommy said, extending his hand out.

Kat was the first to oblige him, placing her hand on top of his. Adam followed suit next, and last was Tanya. Each of them nodded, and without another word, went their separate ways.

As they walked out the Juice Bar, Richie stared at them with an evil look in his eyes. "What are those guys up to?" he wondered.


	2. Two: The reunion pt 2

The four of them stood near the shore just a few feet away from the old steel mill, patiently waiting for the arrivial of the shuttle. Adam and Tommy ventured off towards the mill while Tanya and Kat admired the sun as it set just above the water.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Kat asked her as they watched.

"Yeah. Hard to believe that it's the last sunset we'll see for a long time," she mentioned as she leaned down, picking up a rock and tossing it into the water.

The rock bounced across the water, leaving ripples that reflected off the orange-ish yellow sunlight.

"I hear that Eltar has two suns, so you'll be able to see the sun set twice a day," she brought up.

Tanya cracked a smile. Seeing the water like that reminded her of her home back in Africa. It was years ago, but she remembered it all like it was yesterday. Aisha, the former yellow ranger, came to her village in search of a crystal, but found more than she expected. She eventually found the crystal, but ultimately decided to stay in Africa to assist with the animals. So instead, Aisha offered her the chance to take her place as a power ranger. Tanya happily accepted, and over time, had grown to believe it was the best decision she'd ever made. She'd come to enjoy the life she'd made for herself; she had a wonderful relationship with a wonderful man, and she'd truly made a difference ever since her arrival.

She remembered sitting on the shore in Africa skipping rocks into the water. It always seemed to relax her. Tanya leaned down, picking up another rock, throwing it into the water, then watched it as it skipped…. 

skipped… skipped… CLANK.

"What the hell?" she mumbled as she saw the rock stop in mid air, falling into the water.

This time, Kat picked up a rock and threw it to see for herself. 

CLANK.

"Tommy, Adam," they called out.

Seconds later, the guys raced over to them. "What is it Kat?" Tommy inquired.

"There's something out there," she told him.

Both he and Adam stared out into the water. "I don't see anything," Adam admitted.

"You can't see it, but it's there."

At that moment, something began to materialize near the edge of the river. It seemed to shimmer, but when it stopped, there was a ship hovering over the water. It had an impressive design; rather small, but a sleek silver color to it.

"Our ride is here," Tommy told them.

A hatch on the ship opened slowly, allowing the four of them inside. At first, they seemed a little skeptical, looking at one another strangely. Tommy nodded, and was the first to climb inside the ship. Following suit, Kat climbed in, and not too long after, Adam and Tanya made their way inside as well. No sooner than they sat down, the door closed, sealing them inside.

"How do you work this thing?" Kat asked, glancing down at the buttons, switches and knobs on the control panel.

"Welcome rangers," a voice echoed through the speakers in the control panel.

"Zordon?" 

"Yes. The shuttle is equipped with an auto pilot system; there is no need to plot a course. Once the cloak has been engaged, the shuttle will make it's way to Eltar on it's own. The journey itself should take approximately 2 hours. I will see you when you arrive, and may the power protect you," he said.

"What? No in-flight movie? No roasted peanuts?" Adam asked jokingly.

Just then, the shuttle seemed to shift. The lights inside went from bright to an eerie blue color. _'Cloak engaged,'_ the computer said. Before they knew it, the shuttle jerked forward, and they were on their way to Eltar.

**_*-* *-*_**

The two of them stood outside the building, glancing up at the name across the top.

"Red Dragon Dojo," he cracked a smile. "Looks like Rocky has done well for himself," he said as he reached over, grabbing his girlfriend's hand and walked inside. 

As soon as they made it to the training room, they saw Rocky standing at the very back of the room, but the room itself was filled with children, all of them doing exercises. Rocky led them in their training, but paused when he glanced to the back of the room.

He saw a man wearing a pair of black over-alls and a yellow shirt underneath. The women next to him simply wore a pair of jeans and a yellow cut off shirt with her hair hanging down over her shoulders.

"Zach, Trini, is that you?" he called out.

Zach nodded. "Yeah man, it's us," he answered.

Rocky turned back to his students. "That will be all for today, but remember the martial arts tournament junior division is a week from this Tuesday. Be ready," he instructed.

"Yes sensei," they said in unison, and then headed down the door.

Zach and Trini stood aside, allowing them to leave. Once the last of the children left, Rocky headed over to them, first wrapping his arms around Trini, and then shaking hands with Zach.

"It's good to see you guys," he said cheerfully.

"You too, it's been a long time," Trini said.

"How was the peace conference?"

"It was great man, it really was. We got to travel all over the country and meet with officials from different countries. It was awesome," Zach told him.

"We came back as soon as we heard about Kim," she mentioned, changing the subject.

Rocky took a deep breath. "Tommy really took her death hard, but the others have been helping him through it," he said.

"What happened?"

The three of them sat down on the mats on the floor. "I wasn't there, so I don't know for sure. All I can tell you is that there was someone in a cloak and hood working for Divatox. They managed to get into the Command Center and kidnap Kim. By the time Alpha and the others found her, Kim had been stabbed. Alpha did his best to save her, but there was nothing he could do," he explained.

"Did they ever find out who it was that did it?" Zach asked.

"No."

"We stopped by Tommy's house first, but no one was there. We went to the juice bar, but no one was there either. Where is everyone?" Trini asked, changing the subject.

Rocky shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Tommy was suppose to come to class and help me prepare them for the tournament, but he called and said he wouldn't be able to make it," he mentioned.

"Maybe he got called away by Dimitri," he said.

"No, Tommy and the others aren't rangers anymore," he told them.

"What?!" they asked in unison.

"They stepped down and gave their powers to a new group. So far, they've done well, but it will never be like it was when we were all together," Rocky said.

"So if they're not rangers anymore and they didn't get called away on business, where are they?" Trini asked.

**_*-*_**

"Is that Eltar?" Tanya asked as they approached a planet.

The others turned to the view screen, where they saw a yellow-orange-ish planet up ahead. Just as they suspected, there were two suns in orbit, and a moon twice the size of the moon in their galaxy.

"It's beautiful," Kat sighed.

"Hard to believe that a planet so beautiful could be involved in a war," Adam mentioned.

Tommy was the only one who remained silent, looking past the planet with concern on his face. He sat up straight in his chair, turning his head slightly. The others were so enthralled with the planet, they barely noticed him.

"What are those?" Tommy mumbled.

"What?"

"Those," he repeated, this time pointed at small points of light on the view screen.

"Are they stars?" Kat inquired.

"If they are, they're coming right for us," Adam mentioned.

Just then, a bolt of energy struck their ship, shaking them up a little. Adam fell out of his seat, but quickly got up as Tommy turned to the control panel. "They're ships. From what I can, about 20 of them," he said.

"Where are the weapons on this thing?" Tanya asked, turning to another set of controls.

Before anyone could respond, another bolt of energy hit them, and another, and another. One of the panels exploded, knocking Tanya backwards out her seat. She fell to the floor, and Kat rushed over to check on her. Smoke came from the destroyed panels and an alarm began to sound throughout the ship.

_'Hull breach in 45 seconds,'_ the computer warned them.

"Oh great. At this rate we won't even make it to Eltar. Adam, see if you can find the weapon controls," Tommy shouted.

"On it."

Both of them frantically searched for anything that could have been control systems, but came up empty handed. Another energy bolt hit them, this time knocking Tommy from his seat and down on top of Kat, who was trying to help Tanya back to her feet. Adam quickly jumped into Tommy's chair to take control.

_'Hull breach in 30 seconds,'_ the computer warned.

"Come on Adam, think," he said out loud, trying to come up with a plan.

He glanced up at the view screen, where a huge group of ships were in an attack formation, all of them shooting bolts of energy at the exact same time. Adam saw them coming and closed his eyes.

And their ship exploded.

**_*-*_**

"The Eltarian shuttle has been destroyed," one of the soldiers said, turning around in his seat to face his commanding officer.

Astronema stood up with a wicket smile on her face, walking over to the control panel the soldier was sitting in, pushing him aside. "You idiot, Zordon isn't _that_ stupid. Check the debris for life signals," she ordered.

"But an explosion that big would have……"

"I know, but even an explosion that big would have left something to find. An arm, a leg, maybe a head. Check the debris until you find me the remains of the people in that shuttle," she snapped.

"At once," the soldier said, scanning through the debris as ordered.

Astronema headed back to her seat, sitting down as Ecliptor walked over to her, bowing in front of her. "Princess, allow me to take a group of Quantrons and search the debris myself. We need to be absolutely sure that the occupants of their shuttle were destroyed," he suggested.

"Excellent idea. Take a dozen velocifighters and check for anything that may look remotely human," she said.

"At once my Princess," he said, raising back to his feet and walking away.

"With no more rangers to defend Eltar, and the Great Sage carefully locked away, Eltar will fall and the entire planet will belong to me," Astronema said with a devious smile on her face.

**_*-*_**

Tommy opened his eyes slowly, only to find himself laying on the floor next to Adam and the others. He felt a huge gash on his forehead, but when he reached to touch it, there was a patch of some type already over it.

There was a moment of disorientation that swept over him, and as he tried to get back to his feet, he stumbled over again, falling to the ground.

"I suggest you stay down, we've got about twelve velocifighters on our tail," a voice said.

Tommy recognized the voice, but because the room still seemed to be spinning, and his head was throbbing, he couldn't remember where he'd heard the voice before. He did manage to sit up and get a good look at the view screen about 20 feet away from him. There was something sitting in a chair in front of the screen, but because the seat was so high, he couldn't even see the back of their head.

On the screen, he watched as a group of ships and destroyed one by one. There seemed to be one, however, that escaped. 

"To hell with it, I'll catch him later," the voice said. "Computer, set a course back to Eltar," he said.

_'Course laid in,'_ the computer answered.

The chair spun around, but the lighting was so bad, Tommy still couldn't see who the pilot was. He tried to think back to the events leading up to that point, but his mind was a complete blank.

The pilot walked over to him, leaning down slightly and extending his hand to him. "It's good to see you again Tommy," he said.

This time, Tommy got a good look at him. "Billy?" he mumbled.

"Actually, it's William now. But yeah, it's me," he told him.

Tommy took his hand, and Billy helped him up, taking him over to the seat he had been sitting in earlier.

"But how? You still look so….. young," he mentioned.

"The water on Aquitar has what most humans would consider an anti-aging effect on the human body. I'm actually younger than I was the day I left to go to Aquitar," he pointed out.

"You look great man," he said.

"Thanks."

"So what happened to our shuttle?" Tommy asked.

"You were attacked by velocifighters on your way to Eltar. Because you shuttle had no defenses, you took heavy damage and the shuttle was ultimately destroyed. I teleported you onto my ship at the exact time of the explosion, allowing Astronema to think you and the others were destroyed by the blast," he explained.

"Astronema?" he inquired.

"She's the Rita Repulsa of space and one of the lead generals in the Dark Alliance. Ironically enough, Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd are also in the Dark Alliance," he said.

"There's still a lot going on that I don't know," he admitted.

"We have a little time before we get back to Eltar, I'll fill you in," he said.

At that moment, it was Kat and Adam who stumbled over to them, both still looking a bit groggy.

"Billy?" Kat mumbled.

"Yes, it's me," he said.

She quickly rushed over to him, wrapping her arms around him. "After you went to Aquitar, we thought we'd never see you again," she sighed.

"It is good to see you man," Adam said.

Tanya was the last to join the group, walking over to them with a bandage on her head as well. "Billy?" she mumbled.

He nodded.

"But you look so……" Kat paused, trying to find the right words.

"Young?" he said. They all nodded. "If you remember, the reason I went to Aquitar was because of an illness I contracted on Earth that caused me to age rapidly. Delphine and the other alien rangers were able to not only stabilize my condition and reverse the aging effect, but the water on their home world is so pure that as long as I remain on Aquitar, I will never age again," he told them.

"The fountain of youth," Tanya sighed.

"In a manner of speaking, yes," he said.

"So tell us what we need to know Bill….. I mean, William," Tommy corrected.

"When Divatox freed Maligore from the Nemesis triangle, she unwittingly freed his brother as well, Dark Spector. While you were battling Maligore, Dark Spector escaped into space, where he built the biggest army of evil the universe as ever seen. He has enlisted generals from the Machine Empire, Lord Zedd and Rita, Astronema and her group of henchmen, and countless others, including Divatox. Eltar was the first planet to fall to the Dark Alliance, and when they're GOD, The Great Sage was captured; most Eltarians lost all hope and surrendered to Dark Spector. Eltar enlisted a group of rangers and gave them the Zeo-subcrystals, but they were all destroyed in the battle. All that remains of the rangers are one sole survivor, but he was so injured that even couldn't survive in Eltarian form. I was able to construct a bio-mechanical body for him, and his consciousness was transferred into the new body," he explained to them.

"So if the others rangers failed, what makes you think we'll stand a better chance against an entire alliance?" Kat asked.

"The rangers chosen were inexperienced, and didn't know the power they possessed. What is needed is a group of rangers who know what they're doing, which is why Zordon selected you," he said.

"Are the Zeo powers still……" he was cut short.

"They weren't destroyed, if that's what you mean. Power can never be destroyed, only transferred. The crystals are intact and re-energized with the Eltarian crystal itself, giving us even more power than before," he said.

"Did you say _'us'_?" Tanya asked.

He nodded. "Yes, Zordon contacted me and asked if I would come to Eltar and aid him in the war," he told them.

"So you're the fifth ranger?" Kat asked.

"Affirmative."

"When we make it to Eltar, Dark Spector and his goons won't know what hit'em," Adam said proudly.


	3. Three: The arrival

"I have examined the debris from the destroyed shuttle craft and have found no signs of life Dark Spector. The humans on board have been destroyed," Astronema assured him as she stood in front of him. Across from her was Ecliptor, who remained silent.

The sight of Dark Spector was enough to send a chill down her spine, but she stood firmly with a look of confidence on her face.

"You are wrong," his voice bellowed, vibrating everything in the room, including Astronema herself. "The humans were teleported onto a cloaked shuttle, and the ion trail from that shuttle leads to Eltar. The humans have survived, and are already on their way to Zordon," he told her.

"There is still nothing to fear my master. We still have the Zeonizers in our possession. Without them, Zordon will not be able to….." she was cut short.

"Actually Princess, the Zeonizers have been stolen," Ecliptor mentioned.

She turned to him. "Stolen? By whom?"

"We are unsure at the……" he was cut short.

"Find the Zeonizers and destroy the humans before they are allowed to gain their new ranger powers. Nothing must prevent me from overthrowing the galaxy," he told them.

"I understand master," she said, bowing slightly as Dark Spector disappeared. "Why wasn't I informed that the Zeonizers had been taken?" she asked.

"Forgive me my Princess. I take full responsibility for the incident and will do my best to secure them again," Ecliptor promised.

"You'd better. If Zordon is able to recruit new rangers, things won't be as easy as we anticipated. I think it's time to call in someone who has experience with dealing with the rangers," she said.

"Who did you have in mind my Princess?"

"Get Lord Zedd and Rita on a sub-space channel and tell them to report to me at once," she ordered.

"At once Princess," he said, walking away.

**_*-*_**

Fatigue was beginning to set in.

Weeks ago, when he was snatched out of the Temple of Light by a group of Dark Spector's minions, he was convinced that Zordon and the Power Rangers would mount a rescue. Lord Zedd himself interrogated him, but he revealed nothing. He stood firm in his belief that help was on the way.

But that was weeks ago…..

The chains shackled to his wrists were beginning to tear into the skin on his arm as blood trickled down the chains, falling to the floor. He wasn't sure how long he'd gone without food, but it was taking its toll on him. The room itself was a dark, damp place with all types of creatures scurrying beneath his feet. He'd gotten use to the damp smell, and every now and then, in the distance, he could hear someone (or something) walk by the door to his cell, but that was it. He'd had days to ponder his situation, and came to the realization that if the rangers hadn't come for him by now, they had probably been defeated by the Dark Alliance. _'Or worse,'_ he thought. The mere thought alone made him shutter. _'Maybe they've been…. Destroyed,'_ he sighed inwardly.

His thoughts shifted to his own situation. _'If I was of no value to them anymore, I'd be dead by now,'_ he thought to himself, trying to take comfort in the fact that he was still alive. There had to be something they wanted, something they needed from him. Keeping him alive served no purpose, unless they had a plan.

His thoughts were interrupted when the door to his cell opened, allowing light to pour in. He closed his eyes to shield them, but with little success.

"You are pathetic," a voice bellowed, echoing through the cell. "And they call you a God."

He remained silent.

"You'll be interested to know that a transport ship carrying rangers from Earth was destroyed earlier today. There were no survivors, so if you were expecting a rescue attempt, you can rest assured they're not coming," the voice told him.

"And you came all the way down here to inform me?" he inquired.

Whoever… or whatever it was responded by hitting him across the chest with what seemed to be a whip, ripping the flesh of his chest. "That's what I came for. With Eltar under the control of Dark Spector, soon every planet in the universe will fall to the Dark Alliance. And there's nothing you can do about it Great Sage," the creature mocked.

"Good will find a way to prevail," he sighed as the creature closed the door again, encasing him in darkness.

**_-*-_**

_'Approaching Eltar,'_ the computer announced.

Tommy and the others hurried over to a window to catch a glimpse of the planet. It seemed much bigger than Earth, and didn't seem to have as much water. Just as they'd heard, Eltar had two suns in orbit; the light reflected off the orange-ish planet, giving it a kind of glow.

"It's beautiful," Tanya sighed, reaching over and grabbing Adam's hand.

"Hard to believe that the entire planet is locked in a war," he added.

"The war has gone badly for the rebellion forces. The Astro rangers are on KO-35 defending their planet; Ninjor and several other supporters are on missions of their own. Eltar was the first planet to fall to the Dark Alliance, and it's the focal point for Dark Spector's operation. It's imperative that we gain control of Eltar," William brought up as he began the landing procedures.

"That's what we're here for, right guys?" Tommy commented.

The others nodded. "Right," Katherine said, speaking for the entire group.

"Disengaging cloak and completing docking procedures… now," William said as the ship shook slightly as it landed. He walked over to a second set of controls, opening the doors, then stood aside allowing the others to step out the shuttle first.

Tanya and Katherine stepped out first, getting a good look at the surroundings. From a distance, they could see that a major city was in ruins. Smoke filled the sky, blocking most of the sun's light.

"I can't believe it," Adam sighed.

"Come on, we should get to work," William said, walking ahead of them and leading them into a building. The five of them stepped onto a plat form, and after William entered a sequence of numbers onto a keypad, the flat form began to lower. When they reached the bottom, a set of silver doors slid open, revealing a central operation center.

"Zordon," Kat yelled after noticing his tube in the center of the room. She rushed over to him, staring up with excitement.

"It is good to see you too Katherine. All of you," he said.

Across from Zordon was Alpha, but he seemed to be wrapped up in his work as he went over calculations.

"Zordon, Tommy's shuttle was destroyed by Velcofighters on their way here, I had to teleport them to my ship," William said.

"Did the cloak malfunction?"

"Negative. I didn't even know what the Velcofights were shooting at until one of the energy cells exploded and their cloak disengaged. It was like the Velcofights knew they were coming," he commented.

"It's just as I suspected, there is a traitor among us," he said.

"A traitor, but how?" Tommy asked, stepping forward.

"For weeks now, it seems as though the Dark Alliance has been one step ahead of us the entire time. They were able to orchestrate the abduction of the Great Sage, attack key outposts along the system, and even target our main bases of operation here on Eltar. There is no question: there is a traitor," Zordon explained.

"But who? Who else knew that we were on their way to Eltar in the first place?" Adam inquired.

"It was a mission of the utmost importance. Only a handful of people were aware of the situation: myself, the Phantom Ranger, William, Alpha and Zolara," he said.

"Zolara?" Tanya inquired.

"My sister. She'd been serving alongside the Great Sage on the high counsel of Eltarian leaders for nearly 5000 years, but now she works here with us. Our biggest concern right now is to retrieve the Great Sage and shift the balance of power away from the Dark Alliance," Zordon explained.

"What about the other planets in the rebellion?" Katherine asked.

"They are protected… for now. The Gold Ranger is on Triforia defending his home world, Ninjor is locked in battle in the Torias sector, and the Astro rangers are protecting KO-35. Eltar is the focal point of their assault because of the Temple of Light. As of yet, no one has been able to gain access to it, but if Dark Spector believes that there is no way for him to retrieve the power inside the temple….." he was cut short.

"He'll destroy it," Zolara said as she walked into the room. The others turned to her with skeptical looks on their faces. "I am Zolara, and you must be the legendary Zeo rangers my brother has spoken so highly about since his return," she said.

Before any of them had a chance to comment, Zordon interrupted them. "Zolara, take the rangers to the main chamber and give them their morphers. The situation worsens as time goes on," he said.

"At once," she turned to Katherine and the others. "If you'll come with me," she said, gesturing them to follow.

The five of them simply followed Zolara out the room, and into a room that seemed to be surrounded by complete light. There were no floors, no ceilings… at least none they could notice. For as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but light.

"It's time rangers," she sighed.


	4. Four: The revival

"We're ready," Adam said, speaking for the group.

Zolara motioned her head slightly, and five small pedestals began to rise from the floor in front of each of them. Each pedestal was glowing a different color, and each held a morpher.

"These were taken from you with the hopes that a new generation of rangers would be able to defeat the Dark Alliance. Their efforts failed, but Zordon and I believe with all our souls that the five of you will determine the outcome of this war," she took a step forward, standing in front of William. "William, your bravery has been instrumental to our success. It is with great pride that I give to you what rightfully should have been yours so long ago; the blue Zeo morpher," she said.

William picked up the morpher, sliding it on his wrist. No sooner did he put it on did his clothes transform into his ranger uniform. There was a surge of power that seemed to engulf his entire body. "Thank you Zolara," he said.

Zolara turned her attention to Katherine. "Kat, your agility and cunning is well documented, and it will serve you well in our great struggle. I give to you the pink Zeo morpher," she said.

Katherine slid the morpher on her wrist, and to her, it was more like sliding into a pair of old, comfortable gloves. It just felt right to her. "Thank you," she sighed as the pink Zeo ranger uniform replaced her clothes.

"Adam," she stepped towards him. "Your intelligence and keen insight makes you one of the most formidable forces in the rebellion. It is with pride that I give you the green Zeo morpher," she said.

Adam picked up the morpher, placing it on his wrist, and then taking a moment to admire it as his clothes were replaced by his zeo uniform.

"Tanya, your pure heart and kindness is the foundation of the group, and it is with great joy that I return to you the yellow Zeo morpher," Zolara said.

Tanya picked up her morpher, putting it on her wrist. "Thank you Zolara," she said as her clothes changed into her Zeo uniform as well.

"And finally, young Tommy Oliver. You are the model of a true leader, and you have come through for your team on countless occasions. There is no doubt in my mind that you will lead them to victory. It is my pleasure to return to you the red Zeo morpher," she said.

Tommy put the morpher on his wrist, and for a brief moment, it felt as though it had never left his wrist. It seemed to contour to his wrist, like it was a part of him. His red Zeo ranger uniform replaced his clothes as he nodded at the others.

"Lets go it guys," he said, extending his hand.

One by one, each of them placed their hand on top of his. "Power Rangers," they called out in unison.

"You will find that your zords are here as well, and can be called upon when needed. They have been recharged with power from the Eltarian crystal itself, and will have more power than you ever imagined. Use your power well rangers, you are the last line of defense for Eltar and the universe," Zolara explained.

Just then, the familiar beeping sound echoed through their morphers. Each of them looked towards Tommy, who reached for his morpher. "This is Tommy, go ahead Zordon," he said.

_'Rangers, Astronema is launching an attack on one of the moons of Eltar. There is a military base of operations there, but their defenses aren't fully functional. You must travel to the first moon and protect the scientists,'_ he said.

"We're on it," he turned to William. "How soon can you have your ship ready?" he asked him.

"I'll need 3 minutes to prepare the engines," he told him.

Tommy nodded, and William raced out the room to prepare. Tommy then turned his attention to the others. "I know you were all looking forward to an early retirement, but the sooner we can stop Astronema and the Dark Alliance, the sooner we can all go home. You guys ready?" he asked.

"Ready," Tanya said.

"Same here," Adam said.

"Count me in," Katherine said.

"Alright guys, back to action," Tommy exclaimed.

**_-*-_**

"My Queen, Zordon has launched a ship from the surface. It is no doubt headed for the first moon to counteract the attack on their military outpost," Darkonda mentioned to her as he went over his readings.

"Just as the informant told us. Take a fleet of Velcofighters to intercept and keep them busy as we put phase two of our plan into action," she told him.

"At once my Queen," he said, bowing slightly, then rushing out the room.

**_-*-_**

"From the looks of it, we've got an entire fleet of Velcofighters headed right for us," William said as he directed their attention to the ship's view screen.

"How did they know we were coming?" Adam asked.

"That doesn't make sense. If this military is that important to them, shouldn't they be focusing their attack there?" Tommy inquired.

William paused. "You're right. They shouldn't have known we were on the way, and even if they did, they shouldn't have been able to dispatch an entire fleet towards us so quickly," he stood up. "Tanya, take control of the ship, I'm going to check something. Tommy, you and Adam should take the fighter pods in the main hanger and head to the moon base. They won't be expecting that," he said.

"Right," Katherine said as the three of them of them hurried off the bridge of the ship.

Tanya cautiously sat down in William's chair. "He wants _me_ to take control of the ship?" she mumbled.

"Hey, don't look at me. All the buttons look the same to me," Katherine mentioned.

**_-*-_**

Tommy, Adam and William rushed into the hanger, where there were five fighter pods. William hurried over to the control panel.

"You two go ahead, I'm staying here to check something. Just engage the cloak on your pods and head to the moon, the Velcofighters won't even see you. The rest of us will meet you on the moon," he said.

"Good luck William," Adam said as he and Tommy each climbed into the pods. William opened the hanger door, allowing the two pods to head for the moon. Once they cleared the ship and engaged their cloaks, he closed the hanger doors.

"Same to you," he sighed.

-*-

"Those Velco things are everywhere," Tanya cried as the Velcofighters moved into an attack formation around the ship.

"I think I've got something," Kat said as she pushed a button.

_'Targeting systems locked,'_ the computer responded.

"Great, fire!" she screamed.

The ship began to fire, blasting the Velcofighters out the sky. Some were able to avoid being hit, then came around and returned fire. Each shot shook the ship, forcing Katherine to fall out her seat.

_'Hull breach on deck 3. Sheilds down to 63%'_ the computer warned.

"That doesn't sound good," Katherine said as she got back to her feet.

On the view screens, the Velcofighters moved into one final attack formation. Just then, William raced back onto the bridge. "Computer, cloak the ship and prepare to go to hyperspeed mock 2," he ordered.

_'There is a hull breach on deck 3. Hyperspeed could compromise the integrity of the ship,'_ the computer warned.

"If we don't go to hyperspeed there won't be a ship at all. Seal the breach with an emergency force field and engage the hyper drive," he ordered, and then turned to Katherine and Kat. "You two may want to hold onto something," he said.

Taking his advice, the two of them sat down, clutching anything they could get their hands on. The lights in the ship dimmed and were replaced by blue lights, and then there was a jolt forward. Tanya managed to look at the view screen, only to see the stars zooming past the ship.

"We're passing the moon," Katherine pointed out.

"I know. Astronema is expecting us to take the ship to the moon. I don't know how, but they managed to plant a tracking device on the ship. Since we don't have time to look for it, we're going to take the fighter pods to the moon and set the auto destruct on this ship. That way, Astronema will think we were destroyed in the explosion," he explained.

"So what are we waiting for? Lets go," Tanya said.

The three of them rushed to the main hanger bay, where they climbed into fighter pods. "Are you sure we should be launching these pods while we're in hyperspeed?" Katherine asked.

"No. It's never been done before, but I don't see where we have a choice," he told them.

"I hope you know what you're doing," she said.

William opened the hanger doors, and then climbed into his pod. "Computer, initiate the auto destruct and set the timer for 45 seconds after the pods have cleared the hanger. Authorization Billy alpha 251," he ordered.

_'Auto destruct engaged,'_ the computer acknowledged.

"Well, here goes nothing," William said as he closed the door on his pod fighter, then followed the other two out the hanger door.


	5. Five: The traitor

Tommy's fighter pod crash-landed on the surface of the moon, jolting him out his seat on impact. He managed to hit the sore on his forehead from earlier, re-opening the wound as he stepped into an environmental protection suit that had been stuffed behind the seat. After strapping on the helmet, he pressed the bright red button on the control panel, opening the pod door. 

The sight of Eltar from the moon was breathtaking. From his viewpoint, he was able to see both the Eltarian suns, and the remaining two moons that were in orbit. He glanced upward, hoping to catch sight of the others, but they were nowhere to be found. 

"Kat, this is Tommy, come in," he said, activating the communicator in his morpher, but there was no response.

In the distance, he noticed the military complex was still being attacked, and from what he could tell, no one noticed his pod crash. _'Either that or they don't think I'm a threat,'_ he thought to himself.

With as much speed as he could muster, he headed for the military base.

*-*

"Are you okay?" Kat asked as she walked over to Tanya, who was climbing out of her fighter pod wearing her environmental protection suit. No sooner did she walk away did her pod explode, knocking her forward.

"I'm a lot better, considering," she sighed.

"I've been trying to contact Tommy and the others, but no one is responding," Kat mentioned.

"I tried too, there must be something interfering with the signals. I guess we're on our own," she said.

The two of them headed towards the military complex, but were cut off part of the way by a group of Quantrons. Each of them had long, jagged blades in their hand, rushing towards them.

"These guys don't look like the welcome wagon," Katherine said.

Before Tanya could respond, they were attacked. One of the Quantrons swung their blade, but Tanya ducked, giving him a leg sweep. As it fell to the ground, she picked up the blade, slicing another Quantron in the stomach. When he doubled over, Katherine used it for elevation, kicking another Quantron in the face. The impact of the kick was enough to knock him free of the moon's gravity, sending the Quantron floating into space.

The remaining two Quantrons dropped their blades and hurried towards the complex, leaving Katherine and Tanya surrounded by lifeless bodies.

"I don't know about you, but I feel welcomed," Tanya said.

*-*

Adam slid into his environmental protection suit and stepped out his fighter pod, only to find himself surrounded by Quantrons. There was another figure with a dark green-ish demeanor. It seemed to be deformed in some way with a sculpted look to him.

"Welcome green ranger," the dark figure said.

Adam stood on guard. "Who are you? And where are the others?" he asked.

"I am Darkonda. The other rangers have already been captured, with the exception of William, who is floating through space," he motioned upward, where Adam noticed a figure floating towards Eltar. "He will reach the upper atmosphere and will be burned the death in a matter of minutes. You have an opportunity to prevent that. You can save him and the others," he mentioned.

"How?"

"Surrender your morpher to me and the others will be spared," he said.

"I think don't think so," Adam said, aiming a kick at Darkonda, but Darkonda caught his foot, knocking him the to ground.

"Quantrons, take him away," he ordered.

Before the Quantrons could move in to grab Adam, it was Katherine and Tanya who charged in, hitting a double spin kick to the Quantrons, knocking them over. Darkonda swung his sword, but Adam side stepped him, then hit a kick to the side of the head, forcing Darkonda to stumble back. Tanya kicked him in the back of the leg, forcing Darkonda to fall over. Before he could move, Katherine picked up his sword, putting the tip of it to his throat.

"Where are Tommy and William?" she asked in a deep, dry tone.

"Pathetic ranger, you have accomplished nothing. Dark Spector has control of Eltar and this installation. Your efforts and pointless," Darkonda told them, letting out a sickening laugh.

"Where are Tommy and William?" Katherine repeated, this time pushing the tip of the sword a little further into his throat.

"William is…. Gone," Adam sighed.

"What do you mean?"

Adam motioned upwards, where, in the distance, there was a body floating towards Eltar. "He's gone," he repeated.

In a fit of rage, Katherine cocked back, ready to slice Darkonda's head off. "Stop!" they heard a voice yell. The blade stopped only inches away from Darkonda's throat as Katherine glanced up, noticing Tommy walking over to them. "If you do this Kat, you're no better than they are," he told her.

That brief instance was enough for Darkonda to kick his sword out Katherine's hand, picking it up. "Like I said, pathetic," he snarled, and then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"So what do we do now? William is gone, and they know we're here. So much for the element of surprise," Adam said.

"These Quantron guys look tough, but they're not the brightest. Adam, if I can get us in, can you access the systems and find out where they're keeping the Great Sage?" Tommy asked him.

"I can try."

"Kat, go with him just in case. Tanya, our focus will be to get a ship. The fighter pods aren't going to be able to get us back to Eltar," he said.

"Lets do it."

"Guy luck guys," Tommy said, nodding at the others as they went their separate ways.

*

Tommy and Tanya stood outside the military base, leaning against the wall. In the distance, he noticed what looked like a transport vessel of some sort going in and out the base.

"Looks like they're mining something," he said.

"On the moon?"

"Whatever they're doing, its our ticket inside," he told her.

They headed over to the entrance, and as the 8-wheeled vehicle drove out the base, the two of them snuck inside. They ducked down behind a huge metal container until the doors had completely closed, then rushed towards the first door they came to. As soon as they made it through the door, they were rushed by a group of Quantrons. 

"I'll take care of these tin cans, you try to find us a ship," Tommy said.

"But you'll…"

"Just go," he insisted, taking off his helmet and throwing it at one of the Quantrons. They caught it, and Tommy hit a spin kick, taking two of them down. A Quantron grabbed him from behind, holding his arms behind his back. Another Quantron cocked back with its huge blade, but Tommy got his footing on the wall and used the leverage to flip over, landing behind the Quantron. As a result, the Quantron was sliced in half, and Tommy hit a sweep, taking the last one down.

"Very impressive zeo ranger, but not quite enough," a voice said.

Tommy turned around and saw Darkonda standing behind him with a sword in hand. "And just who are you suppose to be? The evil rubix cube?" he asked.

"Your friend William was just as witty before I launched him into space. His body should have burned to a crisp by the Eltarian atmosphere by now, unless he ran out of oxygen is still floating through space," he mentioned.

Tommy responded with a series of kicks, but Darkonda was able to block each of them, then delivered a right hand, knocking Tommy up against the wall. Tommy fell to the ground, and then reached for his Morpher.

"It's morphin' time," he called out…

… but nothing happened …

"I guess it isn't morphin time, now is it?" Darkonda asked, swinging a left hand and knocking Tommy out cold.

*

Adam and Katherine had managed to sneak onto one of the transport vessels coming in and out of the base, taking down a few Quantrons along the wall. The two of them headed down the hallway, doing their best to avoid being seen.

"I need to find a computer station of some sort. The sooner we can find the Great Sage the sooner we can get out of here," Adam mentioned.

Just then, a group of Quantrons walked by being led by a woman. At first glance, she had long, purple hair, and what appeared to be mechanical implants on her face. Adam and Kat ducked around a corner, staying out of sight.

"The rangers are here, and if they find the Sage, Dark Spector will have your heads. Now go, and do not return until all the rangers have been destroyed," the woman ordered.

The Quantrons mumbled something in some type of binary language, and then hurried away. The two of them waited as the woman walked pass them and around another corner.

"I take it she's the one in charge here," Kat said.

Adam glanced up at the heading over the door they were standing in front of. "Kat, look," he said, motioning upwards.

She quickly read the sign. "Astrometrics lab. So what?"

"I may be able to fine tune the censors to lock onto the Sage's life signs in there. Cover me," he told her, opening the door.

Kat charged in first, but there was no one to be found. Adam came in, closing the door behind him, and then making himself comfortable in front of one of the control panels.

"This should only take a minute,"

*

Tommy opened his eyes slowly, only to realize he was surrounded in complete darkness and apparently chained to a wall. His feet were suspended over the floor, but without being able to see, there was no way to know how far up he was.

"This is just great," he mumbled to himself.

  
"Hello? Is someone there?" a voice echoed through the darkness.

Tommy wasn't sure on whether or not he should reply. _'Then again, if they wanted me dead, they would have done it by now,'_ he thought.

"Hello?"

"Are you a prisoner here as well?"

"It looks like it. I'm Tommy," he introduced.

"Tommy Oliver?" 

"How do you know my name?"

"I am all knowing, all seeing. I knew you and the others would come for me," the voice said.

"Great Sage?" he inquired.

"I am known by many names, that is one of them," he told him.

"How long have you been in here?"

"I am unclear on the passage of time, but it has been quite a while. Judging by the fact that you're here with me, your rescue attempt didn't go as planned," he said.

"No, but the others are still out there. They'll find us,"

"I'm sure you're right, but I don't plan on just dangling here until they do," he told him.

"You have a plan?"

"I'm working on that part,"

*

"I found him," Adam said.

"Where is he?"

"It looks like a holding cell not too far from here, and there's another life sign with him. Its human, but that's all I can tell from these readings," he said.

"Can you take us there?"

"I think so,"

"Well lets get moving,"

The two of them walked out the lab, only to find themselves surrounded by Quantrons. They looked at each other, and then nodded.

"It's morphin time," they called out…

… but nothing happened…

"What the…" she was cut short as the Quantrons grabbed them, pulling them away.

*

The door to the holding cell opened, allowing light to fill the room. The Quantrons tossed both Adam and Kat inside, where they saw Tommy hanging from the ceiling. Next to him was another man, much older, with gray hair and a long, gray beard.

"Tommy," Kat screamed, wanting to rush over to him, but the Quantrons grabbed her, pulling her back.

"I suppose, if you think about it, your mission was a success. You managed to find the Great Sage, but unfortunately, you're trapped here just like he is," Astronema said as she walked into the room.

"You won't get away with this Astronema," the Sage mumbled.

"Ah but you see Great Sage, I already have," the Quantrons grabbed Adam and Katherine, chaining their wrists to the wall. "Now that your rangers are powerless, there is nothing that will stand in my way of ruling the universe," she said.

"How? How did you do it Astronema? How did you sabotage the morphers?" Tommy asked her.

"Foolish ranger, I didn't have to sabotage anything. You were never given your real morphers, you have been deceived," she told them.

"Zolara, we should have known," Adam sighed with frustration.

Astronema laughed. "Humans think they know everything. Zolara didn't deceive you," she said.

"It was me," a voice said.

The group of Quantrons parted, allowing _him_ to walk into the room.

"The Phantom Ranger?" Kat asked in confusion.

"The man you know as the Phantom Ranger was captured when he attempted to steal the morphers, and _this _one was sent in place with fake morphers. I knew it would lead the rest of you to me, and now that all of you have been captured, there is no one that will be able…"

"Oh shut-up," a voice said from behind.

Astronema turned around only to be hit in the face with an environmental protection helmet. She fell back, and William did a back flip, kicking two of the Quantrons in the process. Three more rushed at him, but he ducked as one of them swung a blade, then kicked it out his hand. William caught the blade, slicing the remaining two Quantrons.

With them out the way, William found himself face to face with the Phantom Ranger. "I'm only going to ask you once. Where is the _real_ Phantom Ranger?" William asked him.

"Pathetic ranger, do you really think…" he was cut short as William lunged at him with a sabat kick, taking him down.

"Wrong answer," he said. He picked up a blade, throwing it at the chains holding Tommy. Tommy landed on his feet, and William threw the blade again, freeing Adam and Katherine.

"Get the Sage, we'll hold Astronema off," Adam said.

William tried to throw the blade one final time, but Darkonda rushed into the room, grabbing him from behind.

"Stop right there or your friend is finished," Darkonda told them.

Just then, something crashed through the wall. "What the…"

"It's a ship," Kat noticed.

The ship opened fire, shooting a laser beam at the chain holding the Sage. As he fell to the ground, Tommy caught him.

"I got you," he said.

The ship fired again, this time hitting the Phantom Ranger, vaporizing him instantly.

"Whats the meaning of this?" Astronema snapped.

"Looks like our ride is here," William said as he kicked back, forcing Darkonda to let him go.

The hatch on the ship opened, allowing Tommy to take the Sage onboard. Adam and Katherine were next, followed by William. As soon as everyone was on board, the hatch closed.

~

"I was wondering when you were going to show up," Tommy said as he walked into the cockpit.

Tanya was sitting down in front of the controls. "You know me. I like to make an entrance," she told him. "Lets get out of here,"


	6. Six: The traitor pt 2

"Okay, so now what do we do? We don't have our morphers anymore, and Astromena's forces are getting stronger by the moment," Tommy said as the five of them stood in the Power Chamber staring upwards at Zordon.

"All is not lost rangers. Now that the Great Sage has been rescued and the traitor has been revealed, we can proceed without Astromena knowing our plans," he told them.

It was Tanya who took a step forward. "But we don't have any plans. Even if we did, we'd have to way to fight Astromena, and without our morphers, it'll be impossible," she said.

"The five of you managed to rescue the Great Sage and escape from the moon base without your powers. When the time comes, you will be able to defeat her," Zordon mentioned.

"Hes right. Morphers or not, we're still rangers," Tanya said.

"Yeah, _powerless_ rangers. You think they have a theme song for that?" Adam joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"I may be able to access the computer systems onboard the ship Tanya commandeered, it may give us a clue to the where-abouts of the real Phantom Ranger and maybe get some information about the zeonizers as well," William said.

"In the meantime, we should…" Katherine was cut short.

"In the meantime, all of you should get some rest. You've done well, and all of you deserve some much needed rest," Zolara said as she walked into the room.

"I'll stay behind and work on the computers in the ship. I'll contact you guys if I find something," William said.

Tommy nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Either way, we'll meet back here in the morning," he said.

*-*

"Everything is going according to plan my Princess. The rangers have no powers, the Phantom Ranger is still in our grasps and now that the Great Sage has been rescued…" Ecliptor was cut short as Astromena raised her hand raised, motioning for him to stop.

"The Sage will lead us into the Temple of Light. Once we harness the power inside the temple, we will become unstoppable. The universe will bow before me," she said with a smile.

"But my Princess, what of the Astro rangers? They have defeated our forces on KO-35 and may make their way here," he mentioned.

"Let them come, all but one of the rangers have been destroyed. The red ranger is all alone now, and I hope he's foolish enough to come here by himself. Nothing would give me more pleasure than to destroy him myself," she said.

"As you wish my Princess," Ecliptor said as he bowed slightly, then walked out the room.

*-*

Zolara had been nice enough to give them quarters to rest in, and although Tommy was exhausted from the trip, he was wide-awake. He'd been lying next to Katherine for hours now, watching her as she slept.

_'Shes so beautiful,'_ he thought to himself, cracking a smile.

Part of him was glad she was there. He didn't want to go half way across the galaxy and fight a hopeless battle, but he knew his chances were a lot better she was she with him. Then again, in her condition, he didn't want her rushing off into battle. He placed his hand on her stomach gently, rubbing it softly.

It was only a matter of time before the baby was born, and he knew that once it was, certain things in his life would have to change. _'No more powers, no more saving the city. I have to be a good father,'_ he told himself. For years now, he'd dedicated his life to protecting the innocent and saving lives; first as the green ranger, then as the white ranger with new powers, and even as the red Zeo ranger. He hadn't had time to adjust to his new Turbo powers before they were taken from him, and given to a new generation of rangers.

He was convinced after he gave his Morpher to TJ that things would be different for him; he'd have more time to spend with Katherine, more time to train and prepare for his unborn child. As fate would have it, Zordon had other plans for him. Once the war with Astronema was over, he planned on returning to Earth and dedicating his life to his girlfriend and his child.

_'This is last time,'_ he sighed inwardly as he finally closed his eyes, drifting off the sleep.

*-*

"Alpha, take a look at this," William said as he sat in the cockpit on the ship, going over the system data. Alpha walked over to him, looking over his shoulder.

"What is it William?"

"According to this, Astromena is planning on entering the temple of light and gaining control of the Eltarian crystal," he said.

"If she got her hands on the crystal, no force in the universe would be able to stop her. Fortunately, only someone true of heart may able the temple doors," he said.

William paused. "Alpha, where is the Great Sage now?"

"In the infirmary receiving treatment until a transport can escort him back to the temple," he said.

"Why is he going to the temple?"

"It's the only place where he can truly be healed. His energy has been drained, and he needs the energy of the Eltarian crystal to replenish his life force," he said.

"What if Astromena _let_ us rescue the Sage knowing that sooner or later, he'd have to go back to the temple?" he asked.

"But why?"

"Because once the doors are open…"

"… Astronema will be able to gain access to the temple, then steal the crystal," Alpha said.

"We have to stop her!" he snapped.

"That's why I will be accompanying the Sage to the temple," Zolara said as she walked into the cockpit as well.

"But it's a trap," William pointed out.

"Yes, it is, but Astromena doesn't know that we're aware of her plans. This could be the advantage we need to shift the balance of power in the war. In the Sage's weakened state, he won't be able to withstand an attack on the temple, and that's what Astromena is counting on. What she doesn't know is that we'll be waiting for her," she explained.

"Good plan, but we have no powers," he said.

"You won't need them. All we need to do is distract her long enough to get the Sage inside and close the doors. We'll stick close to him, make sure he's inside, and then we'll be clear," she said.

"Astronema will be no doubt come to Eltar in full force, we'll have to be ready," he said.

"The transport arrives in a few hours, that should be enough time to prepare the other rangers. I've also contacted Andros, now that KO-35 is safe from attack, he has agreed to aid us in our efforts," Zolara told him.

"I've heard of Andros, he's the red Astro ranger, right?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, the rest of his team was destroyed in an explosion on KO-35. He is the sole surviving Astro ranger," she said.

"What happened to them?"

"They were ambushed, set up by the handful of generals that remain of the Machine Empire. They never knew what happened," Zolara said.

"That's terrible,"

"Unless we do something soon, the same may happen to us. Awake the rangers and inform them of the plan," she said.

"Right away," Alpha said as he walked away.

*-*

"My Princess, the transport escorting the Great Sage to the Temple of Light is about to arrive," Ecliptor told her.

Astromena sat on her thrown, watching on the main view screen as a transport vehicle made its way towards the Power Chamber. She leaned back, crossing her legs as she smiled with approval.

"Excellent. Is everything in place?"

"Yes my Princess. The informant has given us all the information we need to achieve our objective," he told her.

"Dispatch another group of Quantrons just to be sure. A lot of planning has gone into this, and we can't afford for it to fail," she said.

"As you wish," he said as he bowed slightly, walking away.

"Its only a matter of time now. In a few moments, there will be nothing standing in-between me and universal domination," Astromena said.

"What about Dark Spector?" The Phantom Ranger asked as he walked into the room, standing next to her thrown.

"When the time comes, not even Dark Spector will be able to stop me," she sighed deviously.

*-*

Tommy and Adam helped the Great Sage as they made their way towards the transport vechile. William quickly opened the doors on the transport, allowing Adam and Tommy to place the Sage inside.

"He looks pretty bad," Adam noticed.

"That's why we have to get him in the temple. Zolara says that the crystal will be able to restore his power," William pointed out.

"And you guys are sure that Astronema is going to try an attack on the temple?" Tommy inquired.

"According the data I found on the ship, yes. Only someone true of heart can open the doors to the Temple of Light. Their plan is to allow the Sage to go through, then follow him in and acquire the Eltarian crystal before the doors are able to close. That's where we come in. Our job is to hold off Astronema's forces until the Sage and Zolara are safely inside," he explained.

"Tanya and Katherine will ride up front with the transport operator. William, you and Adam should sit in the back along with the Sage and Zolara. I'll follow behind you," Tommy explained.

"With what?"

"Zolara managed to get her hands on a damaged Velsofighter and repair it. I'll use it to stay behind you just in case," he said.

"Understood,"

"Alright guys, lets do it," Adam said.

~

"Do not worry Sage, we will arrive at the temple shortly," Zolara assured him.

The Sage, despite getting medical attention, still didn't appear to be in the best shape. His eyes were swollen, and he was slumped over, leaning up against Zolara.

"Thank you my child," he sighed.

"You know, I hate to see him like that," Katherine said as she and Tanya sat up front with the transport driver.

"Yeah, it's like seeing your God in pain. I don't think I could handle that," she sighed.

"So how is the crystal supposed to help him?"

"According to the Eltarian scrolls, he plans to use the crystal to open an entrance to the River of J'Than. The river is said to be where fallen Eltarians go to be at peace. Once he gets there, the water from the river should revive him," Tanya said.

"Since when you do all the Eltarian myths?"

"I wasn't very tired, so Alpha gave me some reading material. I thought I'd study up on Eltar, since we're going to be here for a while," she said.

"So what do you think? You think we'll be able to pull this off without our powers?" Katherine asked her.

"Honestly, I don't know. If we had our morphers, it would be a lot easier. This isn't the first time we haven't had our powers, and we always seem to manage," she said.

"Lets hope you're right,"

"We have arrived at the Temple of Light," the transport driver said.

~

The Temple of Light itself was a magnificent sight. The entire structure seemed to be emanating a beautiful white glow, surrounding the temple. On the door seemed to be cravings, engravings of some kind.

As Adam and William helped the Sage out the transport, it was Tanya who walked over to the door, getting a good look at it. Katherine walked up behind her.

"What is it?"

"It's a battle, the eternal struggle between good and evil," she sighed.

The Sage headed towards the door, holding up both hands. Suddenly, he began to glow as well, and the doors slowly began to open.

"Alright guys, stay alert. I will accompany the Sage inside," Zolara said, helping the Sage inside.

At that moment, Ecliptor and Darkonda materialized out of thin air, behind them an entire army of Quantrons. 

"Stand aside rangers and no one has to be killed," Darkonda said.

Before the rangers could respond, there was an explosion. They turned around as Tommy's velcofighter exploded, taking down most of the Quantrons. The remaining Quantrons rushed at him, but Tommy jumped, landing on the shoulders of one of them, spinning around and snapping it's neck. As the Quantron fell to the ground, Tommy kicked another one, taking him down. The final two were able to grab him, but Adam and Tanya attacked them. 

Darkonda turned around, kicking Adam and knocking him up against the transport vehicle. The impact was enough to shake the entire transport, and before Adam could move, Ecliptor knocked the transport over, trapping Adam underneath.

"Adam," Tanya screamed, running over to the transport.

William tried to lift the transport as well, but with no luck.

"So what will it be rangers? Save your friend, or stop us from destroying the temple and getting the crystal?" Ecliptor asked.

"That's not an option Ecliptor, look," Katherine said, motioning towards the temple.

He turned around in just enough time to see the doors closing. "You pathetic rangers will pay with your lives!" Darkonda screamed.

~

Inside the temple, Zolara helped the Sage towards the crystal. The two of them walked to the end of the room, where the crystal was sitting on a pedestal. The Sage inched his way towards the crystal, reaching out for it. Before he could grab it, Zolara picked it up, and without warning, hit the Sage over the head with it.

The Sage fell to the ground, and Zolara kicked the doors open, walking over to Ecliptor. "We have what we came for," she said.

"Zolara? What are you doing?" William asked.

"Ensuring the end of the legacy of the Power Rangers," she said with a devious smile as she, Darkonda and Ecliptor disappeared.

Tommy, Tanya and William finally managed to lift up the transport enough for Katherine to look underneath. "Adam is gone," she sighed.


	7. Seven: The balance of power

"Gone? What do you mean gone?" Tanya snapped as they managed to set the transport back up on its wheels, getting a good look for themselves.

The impact of the transport left imprints in the ground, and there was an imprint of where Adam _should_ have been, but he was gone.

"Where the hell did he go?"

"Guys, we should really get back to the Command Center. Now that Zolara has defected with the Eltarian crystal, it's only a matter of time before Astronema mounts a full-scale attack against Eltar. We have to be ready," William mentioned.

Tanya fell to her knees, kneeling over the spot where Adam was crushed with the transport vehicle with tears in her eyes. "I never got to tell him I loved him," she sighed.

Tommy walked towards her, but Katherine but a hand on his shoulder to stop him. Tommy tacitly agreed, and Katherine walked over to her. "Tanya, we don't know for sure what happened to Adam. Right now, we have to get back to the Command Center. Zordon will know what to do," she said, trying to comfort her.

Tanya reluctantly stood up, wiping the tears away from her eyes.

"I'll see if I can get the transport restarted. If not, we're in for a long walk," Tommy said.

*-*

The doors to Astronema's thrown doors slid open, and _he_ stepped in cautiously. After realizing no one else was in the room, he headed over to one of the main control panels, going through information on the computers.

_'According to this, the Zeonizers are being held in containment room C. That's three decks away from here,'_ he thought to himself, trying to come up with a way to get there undetected. So involved in his thoughts, he didn't hear the doors open again.

"Phantom Ranger? What are you doing? You're not authorized to access those files," a voice said.

He quickly turned around, finding himself face to face with Ecliptor. "You're paranoid, aren't you Ecliptor?" he asked him.

"Paranoid of what?"

"Astronema has grown quite fond of me the last few weeks. I've been able to do what you couldn't; defeat the rangers in battle. Soon, _I_ will be her new general, and you will be reduced to a mere foot soldier in her army," he told him.

"You're out of your mind, Astronema is like a daughter to me. My trust in her is absolute," he said firmly.

"But is her trust? If it were, she would have informed you of her newest plan to defeat the rangers once and for all. If it were, she wouldn't have told me first," he said.

He paused slightly. "I _am_ aware of the plan,"

The Phantom Ranger heard the insincerity in Ecliptor's voice, and decided to use it against him. "Then you know Astronema plans to use the rangers morphers to create neuro-tronic bombs. I have been ordered to modify the morphers and teleport them just outside the Command Center, and at the right moment, blow it off the face of the planet," he told him.

He paused again. "I know. I am here to assist you. Astronema ordered that we work together to ensure its success. Besides, without the proper encryption code, you wouldn't be able to gain access to the containment room,"

"I was hoping you'd say that. Take me to the morphers so I can begin the modifications," he said.

Without a word, Ecliptor turned around, leading the Phantom Ranger out the room.

*-*

The four of them returned to the Command Center, only to find it in ruins. 

"Oh my God," Katherine sighed as she got a good look at what was left of their base of operation.

It was Tommy who pointed to burn marks on the walls. "Look, disrupter fire. There was a battle here," he mentioned.

"From the looks of it, main power is off line and secondary systems have been disabled as well," he glanced up. "Oh no," he sighed.

The others turned their attention to the tube in the contained Zordon… or at least where the tube was suppose to be.

"Oh God, they destroyed Zordon," Tanya cried.

"No, from the looks of it, his entire tube has been removed. He was kidnapped," William said.

"That's it, its over. Astronema and Dark Spector have won," Tommy sighed.

"We can't give up Tommy," Katherine said, reaching out towards him, but he snatched away from her.

"We shouldn't have come here. I put my wife in danger, my unborn child in danger, and now even Zordon is gone. We have no powers, no zords, no Command Center and Adam is gone. There's nothing left," he snapped.

"I was against coming here, I wanted to stay at home and raise our family, but eventually Astronema will lead her forces to Earth and wipe us out. We're the last chance Earth has to stop this invasion from happening, to save…" she was cut short.

"No, we're _not_ the last chance Earth has. We're not rangers anymore, we gave our powers to TJ and the others. This isn't our fight anymore," he said.

"We can't just give up Tommy," Tanya sighed.

"So what _should_ we do? We're powerless and defenseless; maybe if we go to Astronema and ask nicely, she'll stop the attack. Adam is gone, the Phantom Ranger is captured and we can't even defend ourselves, much less stop an army. Its over," he snapped.

"Not necessarily," a voice said.

The four of them turned around and saw _him_ standing behind them. It was obviously a ranger, but none of them had even seen a uniform quite like his. There was a white stripe across his chest, and inside the stripe were five multi-colored squares.

"Who are you?" Katherine asked.

"I'm Andros from KO-35, the last of the Astro rangers," he said, removing his helmet.

"Do you know what happened here?" William inquired.

"When I arrived, the Command Center was being overrun by Quantrons and Cogs. I did my best to hold them off, but I could only do so much. Zordon contacted me telepathically just before he was captured and told me to assist the four of you in any way I could. Although the morphers you have contain no power signature, I was able to track you with the embedded homing signals in each one, which is how I knew where to find you. I managed to teleport one of your friends on board my ship before he was destroyed," he explained.

"Adam," Tanya said eagerly, taking a step forward.

He nodded. "Yes, he was injured, but he will recover. He is resting as we speak," he said.

"Can I see him?"

"Yes, all of you should come with me. I have a plan that will help shift the balance of power in this war, but I'll need your help," Andros said.

They all looked at Tommy, who still had a monotone look on his face. Finally, Katherine reached out, grabbing his hand, and he cracked a smile.

"Alright guys, lets do it," he said.

*-*

Zolara walked into the thrown room, kneeling down in front of Astronema. "I present to you the Eltarian crystal," she said, handing it to her.

Astronema took the crystal, admiring it. "Finally, we will be able to harness the power of the crystal and destroy the forces of good once and for all. Evil will reign through out the universe," she said with a sinister smile on her face.

Just then, Ecliptor walked into the room, bowing slightly in front of Astronema. "My Princess, I am pleased to report that your plan is going ahead of schedule," he said.

"Plan? What plan?"

"To use the ranger's morphers as a bomb and destroy the Command Center," he reminded her.

"Destroy the Command Center? We have already have Zordon, and the rangers are powerless. What would be gain from destroying the Command Center?" she asked him.

"But my Princess, the Phantom Ranger told me that you…" he paused, realizing what happened. "Oh no," he sighed.

"What have you done?" she snapped.

"I gave him access to the morphers," he said.

"Stop him!" she screamed.

Ecliptor ran out the room.

~

As rushed into the containment room, where The Phantom Ranger had all five morphers in his possession.

"Stop right there traitor!" Ecliptor yelled, pulling out his sword. 

He lunged at him, but the Phantom Ranger disappeared into a stream of light.


	8. Eight: The turning point

"Welcome aboard the Astro Megaship," Andros said proudly as they walked onboard.

It was William who walked out into the main corridor, admiring the ship. "Titanium based alloy, high definition security cameras," he turned to Andros. "What do you use as a power source?" he inquired.

"A multi-spectral quantum drive,"

"How have you compensated for the phase variances in the quantum drive?"

"We use a remodulating field condenser to distribute the power throughout the entire drive to prevent the variances," he told him.

"Of course, a field condenser. Why didn't I think of that?"

"Can you take me to Adam now?" Tanya asked, interrupting them.

Andros nodded. "Of course. All of you should get some much-needed rest. D.E.C.A. will direct you to quarters, and tomorrow morning we'll begin our assault," he told them.

"D.E.C.A.?"

_'I am D.E.C.A.'_ a voice said.

They all glanced around. "An integrated artificially intelligent computer system. Awesome," William said.

"D.E.C.A., arrange quarters for our guests. Tommy, if you'll come with me," he said.

Tommy leaned over, kissing Katherine gently on the cheek. "I'll catch up with you," he said.

"Okay,"

~~

Tommy and Andros walked down the corridor, turning left and walking into the first room they came to. "This is the bridge, center of all D.E.C.A.'s operating systems," he told him.

Tommy glanced around. "It reminds me a lot of the command center back on Earth,"

"Its not surprising, most of the technology you used was created and developed on KO-35. The Astro Megaship is the fastest ship in the known galaxy," he said.

"I'm impressed,"

"I asked you to come here because there is something I think you should know, and I didn't want to alert the others," he walked over to the control panel, pulling up information on the screen. "I have reason to believe that Astronema is planning to bring back Serpentera," he said.

"Wasn't Serpentera destroyed when Lord Zedd was defeated and the Machine Empire took control of the moon?"

"No, it remained buried on the surface of the moon. As of right now, Astronema doesn't know the exact location of the zord, and even if she did, doesn't have a sufficient power source to power it. I think we…" he was cut short.

"Astronema has the Eltarian Crystal," Tommy told him.

"But how?"

"We were ambushed at the Temple of Light. Zolara betrayed us and stole the crystal," he sighed.

"If Astronema manages to give Serpentera an unlimited power source like the Eltarian Crytsal, the Dark Alliance will rule the entire universe,"

"So what's the plan?"

"I believe that's where _I_ come in," he heard a voice say.

Tommy turned around as the Phantom Ranger walked onto the bridge with a box in his hand. Tommy quickly stood on guard, ready for the Phantom Ranger to make a move. "I thought we destroyed you," he said.

"Relax Tommy, this is the _real_ Phantom Ranger," Andros said.

Tommy put his guard down. "But how? I thought you were…"

"Astronema captured me and send a replica back to the Command Center with fake Zeonizers. I was able to escape, and when her replica was destroyed, I took his place. After I gained Astronema's trust, I was able to find these," he said, presenting Tommy with the box.

He quickly looked inside. "Our Zeonizers," he said.

 "I was also able to access Astronema's files on board her ship. I know where they're keeping Zordon, and I'm going to go to Earth and aid the Turbo rangers. If this is going to succeed, we're going to need their help," he explained.

"But what about Divatox and her armies? The Earth needs to be defended," Tommy said.

"I intercepted a transmission that Astronema sent to Earth; she's planning to have Divatox leave Earth and re-join the Dark Alliance. The Earth will be safe, so now,"

"So what's the plan?"

"By now, Astronema knows she has been deceived, so I should get to Earth as soon as I can before she decides to move her plan forward. You and the other rangers should storm the moon and destroy their base of operation. If they find out where Serpentera is, this war is over. Once that base is gone, we should be able to handle things from there," he explained.

"Is the base heavily guarded?"

"I believe the Earth term is Fort Knox. They've got hundreds of Quantrons surrounding the base, security cams inside, not to mention force fields, cloak detectors and booby traps,"

"So if we can't even use a cloaked ship, how are we suppose to get in there unnoticed?" he asked.

"I'm going to go in first and allow myself to be captured. When I get inside, I'll drop this…" he held up a small sphere. "It's a mesotronic bomb, its designed to disrupt electrical components with a electro magnetic field. That should be enough to shut down their defenses, and with the force fields down, you should be able to lock onto my signal and teleport me out of there," Andros told him.

"After Andros is safely on board, you and the others should be able to bring the base down. Once the base is out the way, the Alliance will be crippled enough for the rest of the rebellion to move in and take down the Alliance once and for all," the Phantom Ranger said.

*

Adam opened his eyes slowly, only to find himself laying on an examining table of some kind. His vision was blurry, but he did manage to see _her._

"Tanya," he whispered.

"Yes baby, its me," she said cheerfully, leaning over and kissing him on the forehead. "How do you feel?"

"Like a truck fell on me," he tried to sit up, but the disorientation got the best of him and quickly laid back down. "What happened?"

"A truck fell on you,"

He chuckled. "Figures. Where are we?"

"We're onboard the Astro Megaship. Andros teleported you here, the others are here too," she told him.

"Zolara has the Eltarian Crystal, we have to get it back," he said, trying to sit up again.

Tanya shook her head. "What _you_ need is to give your body time to heal. You're lucky to be alive right now. Just let us deal with Zolara," she told him.

"But I have to…"

It was Katherine who walked over to him, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Tanya is right, you need to rest. Right now Tommy and Andros are going over a plan. We'll get the crystal back and we'll stop the Dark Alliance," she said.

"Lets face it, we're five powerless rangers going against an entire army. How do you expect to defend the entire universe without our powers?" he asked.

"I can answer that," a voice said.

They turned around as Tommy walked into the room. Katherine quickly rushed over to him, wrapping her arms around him.

"Hey," she sighed.

"Hey," he walked over to Adam. "How are you feeling?"

"Like a truck fell on me,"

He turned around, facing Tanya and Katherine. "Where is William?"

"He went to the engine room. He said there was something he wanted to see," Tanya said.

"I just had a long time with Andros, and he's convinced that we can cripple the Dark Alliance by destroying their military installation on the moon. Once we do, our job will be done and we can go home," he said.

"But how are we suppose to destroy anything without our powers?" Adam inquired.

Tommy opened a small box, revealing the Zeonizers inside. "The _real_ Phantom Ranger managed to get them from Astronema before he escaped her ship. We should be able to call on our zords if we need them too," he said.

Both Katherine and Tanya reached in the box, grabbing their morphers and putting them on their wrists. "Astronema won't know what hit her," Tanya said, admiring her Morpher.

"Adam, I don't think it's a good idea that you come with us on this one. You're not at 100%, and I don't want you…" he was cut short as Adam sat up.

"When this started, you told us that you wouldn't force any of us to come. I came because I wanted to help, to make a difference," he slid off the examining table. "I didn't come all this way to sit on the bench when the real action goes down," Adam explained.

Tommy reached in the box, throwing Adam his Morpher. "You're right. Everyone get some rest, because tomorrow we're going to end this," Tommy told them.


	9. Nine: Endgame

"I can't believe how incredibly stupid you are. You just let him walk in and steal the Zeonizers from me?" Astronema snapped, pacing back and forth in her thrown room.

"My apologies my princess, but…"

"I don't want to hear your excuses Darkonda. We're close to defeating the rangers once and for all, to conquering the entire universe for my own, and you go and do something foolish like this. Guards, take him…" she was interrupted as Zolara walked into the room.

"This may work to our advantage," she said.

"How?"

"The rangers have their morphers, but we possess the Eltarian crystal. Without the crystal in their possession, their morphers will not remain energized for very long, and will begin to draw power from their lifeforce energy to sustain they're morphed states. They will be unaware, and ultimately, it…"

"… it will destroy them," Astronema sighed.

"Yes. With them out the way, nothing will be able to stop us."

"So I did well," Darkonda pointed out.

"Consider yourself lucky this time. Assemble all available troops and proceed to the moon base. The rangers will make their stand there, and when they do, destroy them," she said.

"At once my princess," he said, bowing slightly, then rushing out the room.

* * *

Tommy stood on the bridge of the Astro Megaship, simply staring out at the stars as he put his hands behind his back. _'Its all so… infinite,'_ he thought to himself. His thoughts shifted to his times as a power ranger; first as the green ranger, then next as the white ranger, then finally his time as both the red Zeo Ranger and the red Turbo ranger. _'All the things I've done, everything I've seen, all the fights we've won, all the enemies we've destroyed over the years… seems like it was all for nothing,'_ he sighed inwardly.

He remembered defeated Lord Zedd, then defeating the Machine Empire to save the entire Earth, but Earth was just one planet in a universe filled with countless billions. The Machine Empire was still alive and well, Lord Zedd and Rita were still up to no good as well. _'So what did I really accomplish?'_ he asked himself.

_'If we destroy this base on the moon and stop them from finding Serpentera, the universe will be safe, but for how long?'_ he wondered. In the grand scheme of things, he began to question if he was truly doing the right thing. _'Sure, saved the world a few times, but next week it'll be something else. And another. And another. More rangers will be called, more bad guys to battle, more missions to go on. But in the end, what will it matter?'_

His thoughts were broken as Katherine walked onto the bridge. She didn't have to say a word, he knew exactly who it was without even turning to look at him.

"Almost time, isn't it?" he asked.

"Andros is in the infirmary now going over the final details with William. We're leaving in about ten minutes," she told him.

He paused. "How many times have we stood on our balcony back home and just stared at the stars?" she walked over to him, wrapping her arms around him. "Just seems so different out here. There are so many other worlds, so many different races of beings. It just makes you feel…"

"Small?"

"Yeah, small. Like nothing we do here really matters,"

"That isn't true, we've saved the world. The entire world. We've done a lot of good," Katherine pointed out.

"Have we? All the enemies we vowed to destroy are still out there. Mondo and Machina, Zedd and Rita, even Divatox. What have we _really_ done to make the universe a better place?"

"You're being too hard on yourself. You've been the leader of the Power Rangers for years now, feeling the burden of responsibility more so than the rest of us. It was up to you to make the hard decisions, the choices none of us wanted to make. In the end, the world was safe, but you can't blame yourself for all the evil in the universe. That isn't your job. Andros is out here, and on other worlds, other rangers defend their planet with their lives. That's all you can do; its all any of us can do. We save the universe, one planet at a time," she explained.

Tommy leaned over, kissing her warmly on the cheek. "Thanks babe, I needed that. Come on, its time to go to work," he said as he grabbed her hand.

Katherine smiled.

"Is everything in position?" Astronema asked as she walked onto the bridge of her ship.

"Yes my Princess. Soon, we will release Serpentera, and all will fall to the Dark Alliance," Ecliptor told her.

"Very good. Have you been able to find the Phantom Ranger?"

He shook his head. "No, but I doubt the rangers will play a critical role even with their morphers. Your victory is at hand,"

"Excellent. After _I_ get my hands on Serpentera, even Dark Spector himself will bend to my will," she said with a sinister look on her face.

* * *

Adam stood up, admiring himself in the mirror. Most of his chest had been bandaged up, including a bandage on his head, but he was determined to go out there.

"Are you sure you're up to this?" Tanya asked him.

"I didn't come all this way to watch while you guys do all the work. I'm ready, I can do this," he told her.

She handed him his Morpher. "I hope you're right,"

"Of course I am,"

"William and Andros went to the shuttle bay with Phantom Ranger, he should be on his way to Earth right now,"

"Good. Something tells me that the Turbo rangers are going to need all the help they can get," Adam sighed, putting on his shirt.

"So are we,"

_'Andros to Tanya. Come in,' _a voice said.

Tanya reached for her Morpher. "This is Tanya, go ahead," she said.

_'If Adam is feeling up to it, meet us in shuttle bay one. Its time,'_ he said.

"We're on our way," Adam said as the two of them walked out the room.

* * *

In the shuttle bay, William went over the last of the details with them.

"This shuttle has been equipped with the most up to date cloaking equipment in the known universe. Astronema will still be able to detect it because of the ion trail the engines leave, but it will allow you to get within 50 kilometers without being seen. That should be more than enough for Andros to teleport down with the mesotronic bomb and get inside. They'll have to lower their force fields to allow the Quantrons to take Andros inside, but Astronema has the modulation of the force field re-sequenced every time the field is deactivated, so I won't be able to get the shields down. We have to hope that Andros can get close enough to one of the main generators with the bomb so the field will go off line. Once the fields are down, I can begin an uplink to Astronema's computers and find out exactly where Serpentera is, then send them false information. Because that base transmits subspace communications to the entire Dark Alliance, all the entire Alliance will have false information. That way, even if we don't destroy the base, they'll be on a wild goose chase looking for Serpentera," he explained.

"Good work William," Tommy said.

"Tanya, you should take one of the shuttles and wait on standby. Once Astronema finds out what we're up to, she'll no doubt have the teleportation and main engines on the Megaship targeted. You can stay cloaked, and as long as you're at a dead stop, there won't be an ion trail for them to detect. Use the teleportation systems on board the shuttle to get us out of there," Andros explained.

"Got it," she said.

"William, you have to stay here to make sure you can upload the information into the computers on that base. Once you have, you can join us on the surface,"

"Understood,"

"Tommy, you, Katherine and Adam take the escape pods down to the surface, but don't make a move until the explosion. Otherwise, you run the risk of getting captured,"

"We're on it,"

"Good luck to all of you, and may the power protect us all," Andros said.

* * *

Zolara stood in front of the control panel, watching a small flashing light as it moved across the screen. Going over the readings, she was able to determine that it was the real Phantom Ranger's energy signature, and he was on his way to Earth.

"What have you found?" Darkonda asked, walking into the room.

"The Phantom Ranger has crashed on Earth."

"What is his location?"

"Angel Grove, California."

"He is attempting to contact the Turbo rangers. We should send a…"

"Don't be so naïve. As long as Divatox is on Earth, the rangers will not be able to leave. His attempts to warn them will be futile. Assuming he survived the crash, there is nothing he can do to prevent what we have planned here," she said.

"Are you certain? Astronema does not take defeat lightly."

"I'm certain."

Just then, the screen blinked off, and a red light began to flash. "A perimeter alert, someone is attempt to break into the complex," he said.

Zolara switched the camera angles, showing Andros standing outside the complex. "What is he trying to prove coming here alone? He knows he can't get in here until the force field is lower, so what…" she paused. "Wait, he's up to something."

"But what?"

"I don't know. Move in to intercept and capture him. If he tries to escape, destroy him on sight."

"It will be my pleasure," Darkonda said, walking away.

* * *

"This is disturbing," William sighed, staring at readings on one of the on-board computers. 

"What is it?" Tanya asked, walking up behind him. She glanced at the readings, but it was difficult for her to determine what they meant.

"Remember the explosion at the Command Center when we originally found the Zeo Crystal?"

"Of course?"

"That explosion prevented me from being able to the gold ranger powers. I was concerned that my body would reject the Zeonizer as well, so I ran a spectro-analysis to find out. My body can withstand the energy, but without the Eltarian crystal in place, the morphers won't be able to hold their power for very long," he said.

"What will happen?"

"The morphers will tap into our life energy, and we continue to use the power for too long, it will…"

"Oh God, we have to warn the others," Tanya said.

"According to my readings, our morphers have enough power to sustain us in our morphed form for a little over 20 minutes. Anything after that will put us in serious danger. If we try to warn them, we'll break radio silence and our cover will be blown. We'll have to wait until _after_ the bomb has gone off and everyone is safely on board the shuttle before we inform them."

"But what if they morph before that?"

"Then the power will ultimately destroy them. You should get to your shuttle and wait, Andros is in position," he said.

Tanya sighed, walking out the room.


End file.
